Smith Dobson, soprano sax Charlie Gurke, baritone sax John Wiitala, bass Evan Hughes, drums Each of these four musicians is hugely respected on the local professional jazz scene; together, they’ll dig deep into some wonderful music. Smith Dobson, the very great San Francisco multi-instrumentalist, has recently been working on a notoriously difficult horn, the soprano sax, and has been nursing the burning idea of digging into some originals and tunes by the likes of Thelonious Monk with a group built around the soprano sax/baritone sax pairing, along the lines of the music made in the late ’50s and early ’60s by soprano sax master Steve Lacy. Lacy’s album “The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy,” which featured Charles Davis on bari, John Ore on bass and Roy Haynes on drums, showcases this approach applied to tunes by Monk, Miles Davis and Cecil Taylor. Monk’s album “San Francisco Holiday” provided the band name. Smith, Charlie, John…

Lyle Link, alto sax Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax Keith Saunders, piano Adam Gay, bass Omar Aran, drums Bassist Adam Gay has assembled a quintet of fine players, including two reed players who have soul and technique to spare. The Friday-after-work slot is always “pay what you want” or “pay what you can” and our basic line these days is that $10 per solvent adult is the way to go. We want your help in keeping money flowing into the scant pockets or our fine San Francisco cultural workers! Keep in mind, that it’s up to you! More is fine, and less is fine too. We want you to enjoy the music, the musicians, the company of friends, neighbors, live music aficionados and the other good people that are keeping the soul of San Francisco alive for us! Giving us the strength to keep fighting the good fight against the deep…

Patrick Wolff, sax Randy Porter, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Evan Hughes, drums Saxophonist Wolff joins forces with highly acclaimed Grammy-nominated pianist Porter for a couple of sets of creative, swinging jazz. Long associated through their yearly involvement with the Stanford Jazz Workshop, these two musicians share the core musical values of the bebop era and the music that grew out of it. Backed by the irrepressible swing of Eric Markowitz and Evan Hughes, one of the Bay Area’s great rhythm section pairings, the band will jump head first into the wittiest tunes of the canon, from composers like Cole Porter and Thelonious Monk.    

Pianist Caili O’Doherty is out from NYC to teach at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and brings in a quartet that includes Bay Area stalwarts Steven Lugerner on saxophone and Giulio Xavier on bass, with Caili’s fellow New Yorker & running buddy Cory Cox on drums. In March, she completed a 5-night run at Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center with her “Lil Hardin Armstrong Project” and toured both coasts to great acclaim with her 2015 cd, “Padme.” Want to hear the sound of today’s jazz now? Come to Bird & Beckett tonight! [arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TyDAKcW8rs&feature=youtu.be” /]  

    The String Herders have constructed a fresh take on Americana – corralling diverse influences such as Bill Frisell, Jim Campilongo and Duke Ellington. Tom Huber & Kurt Stevenson (guitars) Larry Luthi & Huntley Barad (rhythm)

Seventh Avenu (final e optional) makes its third appearance at Bird & Beckett! A North Bay-based septet, Seventh Avenu features vibist Dan Neville and the 4-horn arrangements of trumpeter/bassist Graham Bruce. It’s a seven-piece jazz juggernaut, with a book of original music and great arrangements that’s thick as a brick! Mad Duran, alto, soprano, flute Dave Schrader, tenor, soprano Ruth Ahlers, bari Steve Weaver, trombone Dan Neville, vibraphone Graham Bruce, bass Kendrick Frreeman, drums Madaline Duran began playing sax at 12 and during high school was selected for study & performance with Oliver Nelson, John Lewis and Clark Terry. With a U of Miami degree shetoured the USA and Europe with the 21 piece BLUE SAINTS. Back in SF she joined George Cables, Hal Galper, Tee Carson, Jessica Williams and Larry Vukovich, Eddie Henderson,Tootie Heath, Eddie Moore, Eddie Marshall, Adam Nussbaum, James Moody. In the Apple she played the Village…

  Darren Johnston, trumpet Cory Wright & Stephen Lugerner, bass clarinets [arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pAJpwTRY0″ /]  

The legacy band! Chuck Peterson put this unit together several years ago, as a fresh iteration in a direct line of evolution from the earliest days of Bird & Beckett Friday evening jazz… Now, its core line-up sports Ray Loeckle on tenor sax; Jerry Logas on baritone sax, clarinet and vocals; Glen Deardorff on guitar; Dean Reilly on bass; and Tony Johnson on drums, swingin’ and boppin’ from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on the fourth Friday of every month. Chuck sits in on flute whenever he can be in town.  

Berkeley-raised (from the age of 7), Berkeley USD-trained (on trumpet; BHS Class of 1980), multi-instrumentalist Peck Allmond has been Brooklyn-based since 1993. The last few years when he’s traveled out to the Bay Area, he’s commonly been found in the company of these sidemen, local luminaries all: Keith Saunders, piano; John Wiitala, bass; Vince Lateano, drums. Peck plays trumpet, flute and saxophone on his dates, performing original compositions and jazz standards with consummate skill.

Click through to watch this incredible slice of a documentary on Charles Curtis Blackwell! [arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUCGz7bkYck” /]

Honky tonk revisionists out of Oakland, Crying Time plays straight-up country and western music, from Bob Wills to Glen Campbell with whistle stops in between. Their original songs sit pretty in the mix – you’ll think you heard these tunes on your daddy’s stereo when you were little. Jill Rogers is a singer’s singer with a 1974 voice and a story to tell, and Myles Boisen is a hero of juke joint licks on the six string and lap steel guitar. They’re ably assisted by John “The Inspector” Shiurba on bass and Tim Rowe on drums, driving the rhythm with impeccable grace, style, and swing.

Mike Wolf’s got a story to tell. Just a punk rock kid out of Pass Christian, Mississippi once upon a time, he’s a big piece of our heart. Come out to Bird & Beckett Sunday and hear him out. Help me pay this handsome fella handsomely! Bring a twenty & drop yr ducat in the bucket. It’s the right thing to do. We owe him far more than he owes us! Tell you what– FREE AUTOGRAPHED SHOW POSTER TO THE FIRST TWENTY FOLKS PAYING THE FULL TWENTY BUCKS!   [arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICe7o89bAF4″ /]

Bassist Joe McKinley has rounded up some prime suspects to perform at Bird & Beckett on June 16th. Veteran players all, trumpeter Mack Rucks, saxophonist Jim Grantham and pianist Muziki Robinson round out his quartet, dubbed the OG’s… the old guys… Prepare for some solid grooves shaped by musicians who know what they’re up to from long experience. [arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_UrU2HBqgg” /]

Darren Johnston, trumpet Matt Renzi, reeds Adam Shulman, piano Eric Vogler, bass Darren & Co. emerge from the shed with a sizzling pot of nicely spiced modern jazz drawing on classic recipes from Bach to Bartok, Shostakovich to Sibelius… Darren says his ‘n Amy’s cats know these cats as the “Noisy Strangers,” but we know them as some our favorite dinner guests! Come on over to our place for a late night feast! Pot luck & BYOB!

James Mahone, tenor sax, joins guitarist Scott Foster, bassist Aaron Cohn and drummer Omar Aran for two sets of straight-ahead jazz ‘n bebop! Bird & his confreres live on at Bird & Beckett! Never a missed Friday evening of jazz since it started in earnest nearly 16 years ago, and Scott’s been on it from the beginning!